“It seems that consumption-based pricing for a specific task like development is plausible and sustainable, albeit with some caveats around what you use it for and what you don’t,” said Goss. “The big question — that is still an open question — is: is consumption-based pricing scalable for general purpose knowledge work?”
Each time a knowledge worker runs an agent while working on a spreadsheet, the cost to the organization could vary depending on the task, for instance. The employee’s level of AI proficiency could also have an effect, as repeated attempts to get the right result could increase consumption. Multiply that by 10,000 or 20,000 employees, Goss said, and the question becomes whether usage-based pricing is sufficiently predictable and sustainable for large organizations.
To help customers control usage, Microsoft has developed a cost management tool. This lets admins create organization-wide and individual spending limits, monitor credit balance, and set up notifications when users reach a threshold.